So you have decided to coach little league baseball. Let me tell you, it is a
fun and rewarding experience. I’m sure you have heard all the horror stories
about demanding parents, and yes, most of them are true. But the bad experiences
I had with a few parents did not come close to out weighing the enjoyment of
teaching quality baseball instruction to boys and seeing those lessons turn into
positive results.

There is just a great feeling about helping boys and young men develop as
baseball players and human beings. You might think you are only coaching
baseball, but you are also a role model for your players. How you react to
bad calls from umpires and bad behavior of some parents goes a long way in
forming the attitudes of your team players.

Keep a positive attitude at all times with your team, your parents, umpires
and the opposing team. I know every coach starts out with those intents, but at
some point they lose it. Don’t let yourself get caught up in the moment and say
or do something you will regret later. And trust me there will be those
moments.

Communicate With Parents

Before I get off my soap box about coaching
baseball, there are two important things I want to point out. First,
communicate with your parents as much as possible. This will head off many
potential problems.

A great idea is to have a parents meeting before your first practice if
possible, but certainly before the first game.

Be very open about what you expect from the parents. They should have their
kids on time for practice and games. They should let you know when their child
will miss a practice or game. And they should keep a positive attitude with
their child.

And let the parents know what they can expect from you, such as how playing
time and positions for players will be handled, and so on. Just an overall
statement about how you plan to coach and do baseball instruction will go a long
ways in establishing an open relationship.

Get and Use Their Email Addresses

In the good old days I used to pass out my baseball instruction outline for
the next practice. Now it is even easier with email. The parents that worked
with their sons at home loved that.

If fielding was a main part of the next
practice, then they worked on fielding at home. But don’t let me mislead you,
not all parents work with their kids at home. Sad but true.

My last comment about parents is try to involve as many parents as possible
in the baseball instruction. Just like the kids, the parents are more likely to
stay positive if they are involved.

Especially try and pick the parents that
don’t seem as anxious to help. These are the ones that are harder to win over,
and their involvement will help bridge the gap.

Coaching Your Own Son

The second important point about baseball instruction I want to discuss is
coaching your own son. Since coaching
baseball is a big commitment of your time, I’m assuming your son is playing.

The hardest thing you may find in coaching baseball is treating your son as just
one of the players. It is very hard to separate the dad emotions from coaching
your son.

Most parents have high expectations for their children, and this often clouds
the interaction of parent and child. It is easier to be realistic about the
ability of Johnny down the street than it is with your own son.

Not handling
this carefully can do major damage to your relationship with your son.

You can ask your spouse to keep an eye on the situation, but sometimes this
leads to trouble with them. The best solution I came up with was asking another
parent, one that I felt would be open and honest, to keep an eye on me.

I wanted
to get feed back from them on how I was handling my son.

This approach worked to perfection. Luckily I picked some good parents who
kept me in line and I avoided any big confrontations with my boys. Be sure to
give this topic plenty of thought.

All of your hard work could go up in smoke if
you handle your son improperly.

Baseball Instructions

Finally, it is time to talk about baseball instruction. If taught correctly,
youth
baseball drills should be fun, learning experiences. Here is the approach
that should be followed.

First you need to show the players how to do the drill.
Show them in both slow and full speed mode. Next have them walk thru in slow
motion and then in full speed. Finally, go live with drills using runners and
calling plays safe or out.

Let’s use the baseball
practice drills of a pitcher covering first base as an example. You, or
another coach or parent, will show the boys the steps that a pitcher takes to
cover first base.

Also, again a coach or parent will show the boys how a first
baseman should underhand the toss to the pitcher. Do it at first in walking
mode, then again in fast mode with the first baseman leading the pitcher with
the toss.

Next, you need to walk the pitchers and the first basemen thru the drill.
Before going full speed, each player probably needs at least three or four
attempts. And those that are having some trouble with the drill will need more
attempts.

After walking thru the drill several times, now do the drill at full speed. Hit a ground ball to the first baseman and have the pitchers cover. Stay with this
step until the players seems comfortable doing the drill.

Baseball Tip

Finally, during this baseball instruction go to game like action. Stand at
home plate, add a runner into the mix, and hit ground balls to the first basemen.

Here is one of the greatest baseball tips: Players love competitive
drills. Even go so far as to call runners safe and out. You will keep
their attention a lot longer doing drills in game like mode.

One of my favorite baseball quotes is from Willie Stargell. He said, When
they start the game they don’t yell “Work Ball”, they say “Play Ball”. The same
advice should go to practices.

Go out of your way to make sure your baseball
drills are fun. Yes, there has to be some mundane work involved, but once
the kids learn that live action starts after they work thru the beginning steps,
their learning curve will go up big time.

Teach with fun baseball drills. It
will help make your season more enjoyable.

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